Beau Bridges, Jessica Parker Kennedy & More Set For Jay Silverman’s Indie Drama ‘Camera’

EXCLUSIVE: Beau Bridges (Dreamin’ Wild), Jessica Parker Kennedy (The Flash), Bruce Davison (1923) and Miguel Gabriel (Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) will topline Camera, an indie drama from award-winning filmmaker Jay Silverman (Saving Paradise), which has wrapped production.

Pic tells the story of Oscar (Gabriel), a nine-year-old boy who is unable to speak, watching as he struggles to adapt to the small fishing town where he has just moved with his widowed, hard-working mother Evelyn (Kennedy). Brought together by a broken film format camera, an unlikely friendship is formed between Oscar and a kind repair shop owner, Eric (Bridges).

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With the local fishing industry in decline, the townspeople where Oscar and Evelyn now live become fiercely divided as to whether or not to stake their futures on building a luxury hotel – which will surely bring in new jobs — or fight to keep things the way they have been there for generations. With Eric’s guidance and mentorship, young Oscar captures the goodness in people, and in so doing, heals a wounded community.

Others set to star in the pic include Scotty Tovar (Finestkind), Ross Partridge (Daisy Jones & The Six), Jorge-Luis Pallo (Father Stu), Ezekiel Bridges (Goliath) and Ayinde Howell (For All Mankind). Silverman directed from a script by Nicholl Fellowship semi-finalist Jamie Murphy, with Bridges, Bethany Cerrona, Ian Christian Blanche and Joe Gamache producing.

“A single photograph has the power to significantly impact a person’s life. Not just the viewer, but the person who captures it as well. This is something I know first-hand – it’s the reason I spent 35 years as a professional photographer, and it’s the same reason I endeavored to direct Camera,” Silverman told Deadline. “While my experience as a photographer convinced me to pick up this script, it was my experience as a father that kept me turning the pages, moving me beyond words. Having raised a daughter born with impaired speech, it was easy for me to relate to this story’s young protagonist, Oscar, and the older man who sees his artistic potential and dedicates himself to sharing it with the world. Their friendship is the beating heart of Camera.”

Silverman added that “even if you don’t struggle to express yourself in the same way as our character Oscar does – or have someone looking out for you, like our character, Eric – we all know how it feels to want to be seen, to be heard, and to be understood…and how special it is when you finally meet someone who truly does acknowledge you. That’s the real magic of this story. At a time when I – like so many of us – feel socially isolated and disconnected, this script restored my faith that life doesn’t have to be this way and that positive change may come from the least assuming amongst us. Through the interplay between still images and moving ones, my goal for Camera was for this story to come alive – to be as real to the audience as a thinking, feeling organism, and for this heartwarming storyline to move them towards a brighter future, after the picture fades to black.”

A 3x Emmy and 2x Golden Globe winner, Bridges has in the last decade been seen in films like One Night in Miami…, All About Nina and The Mountain Between Us, and on such series as The Premise, Greenleaf, Homeland, Messiah, Goliath, Black-ish, Mosaic, Bloodline, Masters of Sex and The Millers. He’ll next be seen in the Emerson brothers drama Dreamin’ Wild from Love & Mercy‘s Bill Pohlad, which is slated for release by Roadside Attractions on August 4th.

Best known for her role as Nora West-Allen on The CW’s The Flash and for a major role in Starz’s Black Sails, Kennedy has also been seen on shows like The Old Man, Supergirl and Colony, to name a few. Notable film credits include the indies Cam and Gemini, as well as the sci-fi thriller In Time with Justin Timberlake and the dramedy 50/50 with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen. The actress will also soon be seen playing Medusa in Disney+’s fantasy series Percy Jackson and the Olympians based on the novels by Rick Riordan.

Oscar nominated for his supporting role in the 1991 film Longtime Companion, Davison has more recently been seen on such notable series as 1923 and Ozark.

Gabriel voiced a role in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and also previously appeared on ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder.

Bridges is represented by CAA; Kennedy by Play Management, Gersh, Luber Roklin Entertainment and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Davison by TalentWorks and Chris Roe Management; and Gabriel by CESD.

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